Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

(UPDATE 6 02-10-14: I've decided to make a video. Enjoy it. Think of me as a hornets nest that you do not want to kick. :) (UPDATE 5 02-10-14: I now give you a screenshot of a logged attempt of Dandelions trying to collect the unique device serial number. Keep in mind, the developer claims that this app "doesn't do that". Well, yes, it does. Proof of which is now posted at thombone.com/stash/dandelions_proof_xprivacy.jpg -- in this screenshot you can see that 1) Dandelions is NOT running as a foreground app, so it is acting in the background and 2) I am actually running the installer, updating an app called "Boot Manager" and while doing so, like I said earlier, 3) Dandelions is trying to sneak into the activity and hijack it and grab some information, "trojan style". However, 4) another app I am using, a rooted device tool called "Xprivacy", is catching the intent and reporting it to me, giving me the choice of whether or not I want to allow it. Normal users DO NOT have this option. They aren't even told this is happening. THIS is why I report things to you all. Most of you cannot do things like this with your device because it takes some mojo to be able to have this level of access to them. This example of this behavior that I have been describing to you is what I took the screenshot of. I took this picture not ten minutes ago. This app is doing a lot more, but this should be a decent enough example to prove that this developer is EXACTLY the kind of trash that I try to warn you all about. This stuff is no joke. And it's not right. Note, again, this is supposedly the version that they "fixed". All they fixed was that they made the app's attempts to gather data even more sneaky. Now it does it in the background instead of at launch. FOR SHAME.) (UPDATE 4 02-10-14: I have now confirmed that even when you exit the app after running it, and by this I mean the current, supposedly "fixed" version, it will try, in the background, upon launch of other activities and apps, to, AGAIN, sneak it's way into obtaining device IDs and other data (GSM IDs, phone number, etc. same as before). The ONLY new change is that the app seems to be even more sneaky about trying to do the SAME THINGS it was doing before this update in that it will now do it for as long as the device is still on, even when the original game was "exited". Enough. I've HAD IT with this SNAKE of a developer. My original review STANDS AS CALLED. Disgusting. Just disgusting!) (UPDATE 3 02-09-14: Well. TapJoy WAS removed, but Flurry is still alive and well. The app still fights like crazy to get the Device ID and still constantly tries to collect usage data, including Device Serial number and unique IDs (thanks to active Flurry.) The only other difference is that the app no longer crashes if you block these requests (in this case, I used an app called Xprivacy which requires a rooted device to do the blocking). Users that are NOT rooted have no recourse against this and since the developers still haven't explained exactly what they are up to in terms of trying to collect all of this personal data in the first place, I still cannot recommend this app. Remember, please, this went from the "it's dormant code" denial to "it's making the game crash if you block it but still doesn't actually do anything" to "we have developers working overtime to remove this code that doesn't do anything anyway" to "we understand that your privacy matters to you so we're removing the code" ... to this. The unexplained constant attempts to collect personal user data are still not explained in full and the developer has failed in their promise to remove all third party add-ons. I'm sorry, but I still cannot recommend this game to anyone with an unrooted device at this time. IF the developer removes Flurry and all of this other ridiculous data collection that is going on in this game, then I will evaluate it and report back on that. I'm sorry but I wish I had better news for you all. I still cannot recommend installing this app on any device that you have anything personal on.) (UPDATE 2 02-09-14: The developer HAS updated the app. I am still evaluating it, but it does seem that TapJoy is removed. Flurry still seems to be there and the app IS still demanding that I give it Device IDs and such. More later. I'm still testing this and checking to see if it's benign or not). (UPDATE 02-08-14: It gets long winded, but please see the COMMENTS section for a whole lot more on this, including some e-mails from the developer. Sorry, developer, you're not taking this "private" when it's ABOUT PRIVACY. ;) ORIGINAL REVIEW: This app absolutely, positively contains active adware and spyware. As a FULL VERSION game, this should be "turned off" at the very least, removed or at least disclosed by the developer. None of this is the case. The app contains the following permissions of note that enable the following third party "ad"-ons: (PERMISSIONS) --Read only access to phone state (Used to find out the phone number and unique DeviceID which is needed for the adware to function. If it was turned off, this would not be requested, nor would it be live) --Open network sockets (Obvious, uses this to transmit global data and information that it collects as well as whatever the adware/analytics code collects) --Access information about networks (Uses this to look for the best route out to connect to remote servers) (INCLUDED ADDONS) --Flurry (Analytics but their stated goals on their web site is to basically help you figure out how to monetize your apps) --Tapjoy (From their website: "Tapjoy is a mobile advertising and monetization platform that allows mobile app users to select ads to engage with in exchange for virtual rewards and premium content.") This adware and spyware IS live. Using my developer box and network traffic analysis, I was able to see all sorts of attempts at outbound traffic that started at the moment of launch of this app. So I investigated. In fact, during my trace of the app, it made so many requests that I was blocking (in this case, using something called XPrivacy) that the app crashed because it lost its mind fighting me to get the gsm operator ID code, the DeviceID number, the phone number, the country code (from the phone number)-- anything it could use to build a profile and identify my device as unique. WHY would a GAME need this? Answer is: it doesn't. This is for the spyware/adware to operate. Sorry, developer, at this point, I don't even CARE if your game is any good. Hiding this GARBAGE in a paid app without disclosure is a SHOW-STOPPER. I cannot recommend that ANYONE download (much less buy) this app for any reason. Developers like this need to stop treating their customers like meat and show us some respect. Developer: Either disclose the extra junk you bundle with your paid apps and explain yourselves, or get off of our platform. UGH! WHEN will they ever learn? ;)